USB cable: espionage, sabotage, infiltration

What do you do when you have misplaced your USB cable? You borrow one without worrying about any unpleasant consequences of this simple loan. Beware! A microcontroller hidden in the connector of a USB cable communicates wirelessly with the outside world. Its Bluetooth interface allows anyone who controls it to install malware or spyware.

Wireless Bluetooth speakers and sound systems have quickly become very popular devices. Although very practical, the sound quality may not always be as good as you would like it to be. So, then, why don’t you build your own? The electronics needed for it are available as cheap modules from China, the acoustics are up to you. And while you’re at it, why not add lighting effects too? Here is a great tutorial.

Dragino is a manufacturer of IoT hardware, specialised in Linux IoT/VOIP, Arduino Yùn add-on boards and LoRa modules and gateways. One of their latest products is the LSN50 long-range LoRa sensor node, designed for outdoor use.

The administration of drugs in tablet or capsule form has continued pretty much the same for over a 100 years. This could, however, change quite quickly. Researchers from MIT, Draper, Brigham and Women’s Hospitals have developed an advanced 3D-printed capsule that can be controlled with the aid of Bluetooth technology. The capsule has been designed to be swallowed by a patient, after which it can send and receive information from outside the body. It can also be instructed to gradually release drugs over a longer period of time, as a reaction to symptoms.

A (hobby) electronics engineer needs at least two pieces of equipment to be able to work on an electronic circuit: a multimeter and a soldering iron. Most of us have these by now, but sometimes it is necessary to acquire a new one or obtain an additional multimeter that will come in handy when it is desirable to make multiple measurements simultaneously. The meter from Mastech that we describe here is a mid-range instrument with a price tag of just below 50 euros and also offers a few nice features!

Here comes a luxury problem! One of the stronger factors discouraging potential users to opt for STMicroelectronics microcontrollers traditionally has been: there are too many to choose from. Some people find this fascinating and a sign of constant technological progress, while others are in constant uncertainly as to which ‘STM32’ device or board is the best for the application at hand. Frankly, with STMicro’s enormous product range it’s easy to lose count of the number of ARM and ARM-Cortex based processors.

The Elektor department for tools, equipment, kits also contains some really useful articles: Some of my more recent articles include the DVB-T USB sticks as DAB radio and QI chargers for smartphones (which will be appearing shortly) and for these I used a plug in USB tester to take measurements of USB voltage and current drawn by the USB devices. I am now however in possession of a similar but much more capable measurement device. What additional features does this neat bit of test gear offer?

Belgian research lab Imec claims that a software change to the Bluetooth specification has the potential of adding distance measurement with up to 30 cm accuracy. The change Imec says works with a standard Bluetooth transceiver at each end ort the radio link, hence should be workable on existing smartphones. So far, accurate location and high security could only be achieved by using high-end solutions based on ultra-wideband [UWB] radios.

Commercial lighting systems are undergoing a major disruption that is poised to transform the future of efficient connectivity in buildings. McKinsey projects the worldwide lighting market to grow to almost $159 billion by 2020 [1]. On the back of this escalating growth, Bluetooth mesh can equip lighting systems with a wireless network, creating a distributed platform for other wireless building services. This Lighting-as-a-Platform concept is not as futuristic as one may think, and gives businesses the opportunity to turn the humble light into a sophisticated connectivity grid that supports automation, efficiency and security.

In the Elektor Store for your enjoyment we now have the Official ESP32 book. This book aims to introduce the ESP32, describing the main software and hardware features of the chip. Using a variety of practical projects, some using the ever popular ESP32 development board, the book is organised in increasing levels of difficulty to walk the reader through.